Paper roll holder



Dec. 1, 1953 s. SALMONSON 2,661,165

PAPER ROLL HOLDER Filed May 26, 1948 IN V EN TOR.

Patented Dec. 1, 1953 umrso 'l'ii'l QFFIQE Claims priority, application Sweden September 1, 1945 12 Claims. (Cl. 242-55.2)

My invention relates to holders for paper rolls, and more particularly to such holders having an elongated member upon which apertured paper rolls are adapted to be rotatably positioned and from the outer free ends of which it is desired to tear off pieces of paper.

In holders of this type generally provided heretoiore for paper rolls like toilet tissue and paper toweling, for example, the elongated supporting member is usually held in a horizontal position by a support having movable provisions for reznoving the tubular member of a used paper roll and positioning a fresh paper roll in place.

While a piece of paper can be torn off by one hand from the free end of a paper roll rotatably supported in a horizontal position, the desired amount of paper frequently cannot be torn off, particularly when a user applies relatively great pulling force to the free end to unwind the paper which often causes the roll to turn more than necessary due to its own momentum. Further, it is often necessary to hold the paper roll with one hand while using the other hand to tear off'a piece of paper. Also, the extreme free end of a paper roll, especially toilet tissue and paper toweling, tends to cling to the next layer of paper when rctatably supported in a horizontal position which requires shifting the rollback and forth by hand to loosen the free end to make it hang from the roll.

It is an object of my invention to provide an improved holder for paper rolls which will enable a user at all times to tear on a piece of paper f desired length with one hand.

Another object of the invention is to provide such a holder for paper rolls which is of simple construction and in which no moving part or parts are required, thereby facilitating the insertion o a fresh paper roll on the holder.

A further object of the invention is to provide such. a holder which occupies a minimum amount of space, essentially no greaterthan that oc- -ied by the roll itself, on a wall upon which it mounted. I

The novel features which I believe to be chartic of my invention are set forth with par ity in the claims. The invention, both as to organization and method, together with the above and other objects and advantages thereof, will be better understood by reference to the ollowing description taken in connection with he accompanying drawing forming a part of this pecification, and of which:

Fig. l is a front elevation of a holder for paper rolls embodying my invention;

Fig. 2 is aplan view of the paper roll holder Fig. 1;

Fig. 3 is a perspective view of the construction shown in Figs. 1 and 2;

Fig. 4 is a front elevation of a paper roll holder illustrating a modification of the embodiment shown in Figs. 1 to 3; and

Fig. 5 is a plan View of the form of holder shown in Fig. l.

Referring to Figs. 1 to 3 of the drawing, a holder for paper rolls which I have shown embodying my invention includes a base or back plate It having openings ll adapted to receive screws 12 or other suitable fastening members for rigidly n'lounting the holder'in position on a vertical wall portion of the sidearm l5 and projects obliquely upward at an angle to the vertical. As best shown in Fig. 2, the supporting member 45 is disposed in a plane which is parallel to the base H3 and wall it, the gap or space between the supporting member and base determining the maximum size paper roll that can be accommodated by the holder.

In using the holder illustrated in Figs. 1 to 3 and just described, a roll of paper H, which is shown in dotted lines, is slipped over the supporting member it. The apertured paper roll I I may he paper toweling which is perforated and absorbent in character. Since the upper end of the supporting member it projects freely into space and is unobstructed by any fastening provisions, it is only necessary to slip the hollow tube, upon which the paper roll is usually wound, over the supporting member to ready the paper holder for use. The paper roll I7 is retained in position simply by its own weight, and, as will be described presently, cannot be inadvertently removed from the supporting member 16 in normal use of the holder. The paper roll is positioned on the supporting member it so that the free end thereof will extend downwardly from the side il'a of the enemas 3 thereof bears at 18 against the surface l9 of the side arm I5.

The desired length or paper is unwound from the paper roll i! by grasping the free end thereof and pulling it away from the base Ill and wall M in a direction which is more or less perpendicular to the axis of the:supportin :member 1B,:as indicated by the arrow A in Fig. 2. The-paper roll I? tends to move Slightly upward on the supporting member l6 when the pulling force applied more or less perpendicular to theaxrs thereof, so that the lower end of the paperrollat the region 18 will be free a considerable giartnf the time from. the surface 19 ,of .the side arm as the paper is being unwound. 'Suchpulling force need not be applied precisely normal to the :axis of the supporting member but is preferahleibecause, when the paper is unrolled in this manner, the frictional engagement at it between the lower end of the roll and the surface IE1 at the region is is at a minimum. Evenwhen'the pulling force at the free end of the paper is applied at an angle which is slightly less than .a right angle to the axis of the supporting mem'ber l6, the'frictional engagement of the paper roll I?! :against the surface it is not too great when such pulling force is in a downward direction. Further, when such pulling 'force is slightly upward, the paper roll cannot be readily removed from the supporting member it although the paper .=roll is freely movable in its lengthwise direction thereon and'not locked or clamped in'position.

After the desired length of paper is unwound from the paper roll, the :direction of the pulling force applied to the :free end t ereofis shifted downwardly, as indicated by the arrows B in Figs. 1 and 2, in order ato'producemaximinn frictional engagement -.at 1-.8 between the paper roll and theside arm I5. In this'manner the paper roll 'is more or less clampedfinposition-and prevented from -freely turning on the supporting member 16, such clamping action being .due to the upwardly oblique position of the supporting member with respect to the side arm 115. The pulling force applied to :the :unwound section of the paper roll initially causes the latter to bear against the side :arm till :to prevent free turning "movement of the paper roll, and, with continued application of such pulling force, the unwound length of paper is readily torn from the paper roll. When the paper roll is perforated, the tearing action tends to occur at'a perforated-region of the roll since such regions are the least resistant to tearing. However, even when the paper is not perforated and in the form "of a'continuous sheet, the paper will tear readily .in the manner just described due to the fact that the paper roll is more or less clamped or locked in position and the upper free edge of the unwoundportion of the paper is subjected to pulling .force .of considerable magnitude.

The sidearm J is desirably .of such .height that, whena paper .roll is positioned on the supporting member 15, the lower end of the 1011 will always bear against successively lower regions of the arm as the paper is being consumed and the outer diameter of "the paper roll becomes smaller. The supporting member i6 preferably should project obliquely upward at a suitable angle, such as, for example, at an angle from 45 to 60 from the vertical. When the holder is to be used for paper toweling of the type which is now available, the supporting member I6 is positioned such a distance from the vertical plane of the base it that the space therebetween will nicely accommodate the paper towel roll and provide suilicient clearance to enable the paper roll to be readily positioned on the supporting member. With such construction of the paper roll holder, a compact arrangement is provided and the holder and paper roll positioned thereon -will occupy aminimum amount of space on the wall upon which it is mounted.

In Figs. 4 and 5 I have shown a modification :of the embodiment just described in which the paper roll holder includes a circular base or mounting plate Ii -a having openings i la adapted to receive screws 52a for fastening the holder to a vertical Wall 1:30.. To the base tile is fixed "one-end'of a rod-2G which includes an end portion its projectingoutwardly from the base, an intermediate portion itc extending downwardly from the outer end of the end portion lid, and the opp'os'ite'end portion 2: which projects obliquely upward from the lower end of the intermediate portion lea. 'Theil'ower end a round pin Elia. :is recessed to receive the upwardly projecting end portion 21 "of the rcdZEl.

In'the modificationiof Figs. 4 and 5 the inter .mediate'rod portion 13c performs the same function as the surface i9 of the side arm iii in the embodiment first described. While the side arm !5 in Figs. 1 to 3 provides a surface it which is substantially vertical and against which the paper roll is adapted to bear, the intermediate rod portion ltd i a and 5 is at an angle to 'the vertical. Eowever, in both forms of the invention shown the supporting members it and 25d are at an acute-angle with respect'to the part of the holder against which the lower end of the paper .roll :is adapted to bear. In Figs. l and 5 the uppermost :region at the lower end of the paper roll 17a, indicated by dotted lines, bears at 13c againstthe intermediate rod portion lfia, and it at this region that the clamping action is produced when pulling force is applied to the free end. :of the paper roll to tear off a piece of paper in themanner previouslydescribed in conneat on with thefirst embodiment.

While the supporting member for the paper rolls may extend obliquely upward at an acute angle of at least from the vertical, I have found out :in practice that it is preferable to mount :the supporting member at an angle in a range of about to from the vertical. With such inclination 'of the supporting member the upper and lower extremities thereof are disposed in-spaced apart planes transverse to the vertical wall. When pulling force is initially applied to the outer free end of a paper roll to unwind paper therefrom, such pulling force is applied in such a manner that the predominant component of the force is in a direction perpendicular to the longitudinal aXis of the supporting member, so that the frictional engagement between the roll andsurface against which it bears at the regions 18 and Ilia will be insufiicient to retard turning movement of the roll. Thereafter the pulling force is shifted in such a manner that the predominant component thereof is in a direction toward the surface or regions 18 and 180., so that the frictional engagement between the roll and such surface will be adequate to prevent turning movement of the roll and enable a piece of paper .to be torn off the roll by the pulling force.

'I'he'modification of Figs. 4 and 5 provides an extremely simple construction of holder for paper rolls which is neat in appearance. When a paper roll is positioned on the supporting member Ilia,

' the only parts of the holder which are visible are the bent rod 20 and circular-shaped base Illa to which it is fixed. In both the embodiment of Figs. 1 to 3 and the modification of Figs. 4 and 5, the holders are of inexpensiv construction because of the absence of any moving parts which are usually necessary in a conventional type of holder in which the paper roll is supported in a horizontal position between spaced apart end members.

In the embodiment of Figs. 1 to 3 the base I!) and side arm may be formed of metal or wood, or molded in a single piece from synthetic resinous material. The supporting member l6 may be formed of wood or any other suitable material. The base that and rod 25 in the modification of Figs. 4 and 5 nay be formed of steel or other suitable material possessing adequate strength to provide a rigid support for the paper roll holder. When formed of suitable metal, the rod 20 is bent to the desired shape and the extreme end of the end portion iEa may be fixed, as by brazing, for example, in a central aperture provided in the base Ilia. In order to facilitate mounting holders on a wall so that the elongated supporting member will extend obliquely upward at the proper angle, the base may be marked by an arrow, like the arrow C' in Fig. 4, for example, which should point upwardly when the holder is mounted on a wall. Further, the elongated supporting member may extend obliquely upward either to the left or right from the vertical.

In View of the foregoing, it will now be understood that an improved holder for paper rolls has been provided which enables paper to be unrolled in any desired length in a convenient manner. In both embodiments the elongated supporting members 16 and Mia, respectively, are mounted on a vertical wall in such a manner that each supporting member is inclined from the vertical in a plane substantially parallel to the V61" tical wall upon which it is mounted. Stated another way, each supporting member is inclined rorn the verti al and extends across the vertical wall in a horizontally extending direction with the upper and lower extremities at the longitudinal axis thereof intersecting spaced apart parallel vertical planes, respectively, which are transverse to the vertical wall. In accord with the invention the supporting structures of the holders described above include surface portions it and 18a, respectively, which are removed and spaced from vertical walls upon which the holders are mounted and constitute the only regicns or places against which a peripheral edge of the lower end of the roll is adapted to bear. After adesired length of paper is unrolled by grasping the free end and pulling such free end outwardly from the wall in the direction of the arrow A, it is not necessary to release the free end but ony to shift "he dire ti o l is.

I c on f the pu 1mg thereof is pulled downwardly to facilitate tearing force in the direction of the arrow B to produce the tearing action. Hence, it is not necessary in using the above described holders for paper rolls to hold roll with one hand to prevent turning movement thereof while the other hand is employed to tear off desired section of unrolled pa" per from the roll, so that a minimum amount of effort is reauired on the part of a user to tear off pieces of paper from paper rolls. Moreover, in the improved holder described above, the clamping iis effected at E8 and Mia, respectively, at the lower end of the paper roll irrespective of the quantity of paper remaining on the roll.

The desired braking action imparted to the paper roll, when tearing of a section thereof is being effected, may be effected in several ways. For example, axial movement may be imparted to the paper roll so that it will bear against the outer surface of a conical-shaped element or a recess in an element which is conical-shaped, the axes of such elements being in alignment with the axis of the supporting member. Such recess of conical shape may be incorporated as a part of the supporting member for the paper roll, or a. conical-shaped enlargement may be provided at the lower end of the supporting member adapted to frictionally engage the lower end of the paper roll at the region defining the central aperture thereof. The supporting member for the paper rolls may also be provided with one or more suitable edges adapted to cooperate with a paper roll, either at the central aperture or outer peripheral portion thereof, and adapted to engage and lock the roll in a fixed position when downward movement is imparted to the paper roll on the supporting member. Such locking action may be efiected independently of or in conjunction with the braking effect accomplished in the embodiments described above.

This application is a continuation-impart of my application Serial No. 693,756, filed August 29, 1946, which now is abandoned.

While I have shown and described several embodiments of the invention, it will be apparent from the foregoing that various modifications and changes may be made without departing from the spirit and scope of the invention, as pointed out in the following claims.

What is claimed is:

l. A holder for paper rolls comprising an elongated supporting member upon which a paper roll can be rotatably positioned, means cooperating with the lower end of said member adapted to mount the latter on a wall in spaced relation thereto so that said member is inclined at an acute angle from the vertical and extends across the wall in a horizontally extending direction with the upper and lower extremities at the longitudinal axis thereof intersecting spaced apart vertical planes, respectively, which are essentially parallel to one another and transverse to the wall, and structure embodied in the holder providing a surface at a region which is removed from the wall and against which a lower portion of the roll is adapted to bear, said structure being so constructed and formed that the frictional engage" ment between th roll and said surface is relatively small and will enable the roll to be turned when the outer free end thereof is grasped and pulled outwardly from the wall in a direction more or less at a right angle to the axis of said member and normal to the wall, and the frictional engagement between the roll and said surface is relatively great and tends to prevent turning movement of the roll when the outer free end off a piece of paper.

2. A holder for paper rolls comprising an elongated supporting member upon which such a paper roll can be rotatably positioned, structure cooperating with the lower end of said member adapted to mount the latter on a wall in spaced relation thereto so that said member is inclined from the vertical and extends across the wall in a horizontally extending direction with the upper and lower extremities at the longitudinal axis thereof intersecting spaced apart parallel vertical planes, respectively, which are transverse to the wall, and said structure including a surface at a place which is removed from the wall and constitutes the only region against which a peripheral edge of the lower end portion of th roll is adapted to bear, said structure being so constructed and formed that the frictional engagement between the roll and said region is relatively small and will enable the roll to be turned when the outer free end thereof is grasped and pulled in a direction more or less at a right angle to the axis of said supporting member, and the frictional engagement between th roll and said region is relatively great and tends to prevent turning movement of the roll when the outer free end thereof is pulled downwardly to facilitate tearing off a pieceof paper.

3. A holder for apcrtured paper rolls comprising an elongated supporting member having an unobstructed upper end over which such a paper roll can conveniently be rotatably positioned, means cooperating with the lower end of said supporting member adapted to mount the latter on a wall in spaced relation thereto so that said member is inclined from th vertical in a plane substantially parallel to the wall with the upper and lower extremities of said member disposed in spaced apart planes transverse to the wall, and structure embodied in the holder providing a region against which a lower portion of the roll is adapted to bear, said structure being so constructed and formed that the frictional engagement between the roll and said region is relatively small and will enable the roll to be turned when the outer free end thereof is grasped and pulled outwardly from the wall in a direction more or less at a right angle to the axis of the supporting member and the wall, and the fricr:

tional engagement between the roll and said region is relatively great and tends to prevent turning movement of the roll when the outer free end thereof is pulled downwardly to facilitate tearing off a piece of paper.

4. For use on a vertical wall, aholder for apertured paper rolls comprising an elongated supporting member upon which such a paper roll conveniently can be rc-tatably positioned, and structure cooperating with the lower end of said member adapted to mount the latter on the wall in spaced relation thereto so that said member is inclined from the vertical and extends across the wall in a horizontally extending direction with the upper and lower extremities at the longitudinal axis thereof intersecting spaced apart parallel vertical planes, respectively, which are transverse to the wall, and said structure including an element forming an acute angle of less than 90 with said member and having a. surface at a place which is removed iron the vertical wall and constitutes the only region against which a peripheral edge of the lower end of the roll is adapted to bear, said structure being so constructed and formed that the frictional engagement between the roll and said region is relatively small and will enable the roll to be turned when the outer free end thereof is grasped and pulled outwardly from the wall in a direction more or less at a right angle to the axis of said member, and the frictional engagement between the roll and said region is relatively great and tends to prevent turning movement of the roll when the outer free end thereof is pulled downwardly to facilitate tearing off a piece of paper.

5. A holder for apertured paper rolls from the outer free ends of which it is desired to tear off pieces, said holder comprising an elongated supporting member upon which a paper roll conveniently can be rotatably'position'ed, and strucallel vertical planes, respectively,

ture cooperating with thelower-end of said member adapted to mount the latter On a vertical wall in spaced relation thereto so that said member is inclined from the vertical and extends across the wall in a horizontally extending direction with the upper and lower extremities at the longitudinal axis thereof intersecting spaced apart parallel vertical planes, respectively, which are transverse to the wall, said structur including an element projecting upwardly from the lower end of said member and having at least a portion thereof in substantially the same vertical plane therewith, said element providing a surface at a place which is removed from the vertical wall and constitutes the only region against which a peripheral edge at the lower extremity of the paper roll is adapted to bear, said structure being so formed and arranged that the frictional engagement between the roll and said region is relatively small and will enable the roll to be turned when the outer free end thereof is grasped and pulled outwardly from the wall in a direction more or less at a right angle to the axis of the supporting member, and the frictional engagement between the roll and said region is relatively great and tends to prevent turning movement of the roll when the outer free end thereof is pulled downwardly to facilitate tearing off a piece of paper.

6. A holder for paper rolls comprising an elongated supporting member upon which such a paper roll can be rotatably positioned, and structure cooperating with the lower end of said member adapted to mount the latter on a vertical wall in spaced relation thereto so that said member is inclined from the vertical and extends across the wall in a horizontally extending direction with the upper and lower extremities at the longitudinal axis thereof intersecting spaced apart parwhich are transverse to the vertical wall, said structure including an element extending upwardly from the lower end of said member and forming an acute angle of less than 90 therewith to provide a region which is removed from the vertical wall and constitutes the only place against which a peripheral edge at the lower end of the roll is adapted to bear.

'7. A holderas set forth in claim '6 in which said supporting member forms an acute angle in the neighborhood of about 30 to 60 from the vertical when mounted on the wall by said structure.

8. A holder for apertured paper rolls from the outer free ends of which it is desired to tear off pieces, said holder comprising an elongated supment extending upwardly from the lower end of said member and forming an acute angle therewith to provide a region against which a lower portion of the roll is adaptedto bear.

9. -A holder as set forth in claim 8 in which said supporting member forms an acute angle in the neighborhood of about 45 to 60 from the vertical when mounted on the'wall by said structure.

10. A holder for paper rolls having a central aperture and from the outer free end of which it is desired to tear ofi pieces, said holder'comprising an elongated supporting member upon which a paper roll can be rotatably positioned, and

structure cooperating with the lower end of said member for mounting the latter on a vertical wall in spaced relation thereto so that said member is inclined from the vertical and extends across the wall in a horizontally extending direction with the upper and lower extremities thereof disposed in spaced apart planes transverse to the wall, said structure including a bent element having one end portion adapted to extend outwardly from the wall, another end portion to which the lower end of said member is fixed and an intermediate portion between the end portions which is at an angle of less than 90 with respect to such member, said intermediate portion having a surface constituting the only region against which a peripheral edge at the lower end of the paper roll is adapted to bear when said member is inclined from the vertical in its mounted position on the wall and extends across the latter in a horizontally extending direction.

11. A holder as set forth in claim in which said structure includes a base of metallic material adapted to be attached to the wall and a metal rod bent to provide said end portion and intermediate portion therebetween, said base providing a relatively extensive contact bearing surface relative to the cross-sectional area of said rod which acts against the wall when it is attached thereto.

12. A holder as set forth in claim 6 in which said supporting member forms an acute angle of at least from the vertical when mounted on the wall by said structure and said element and supporting member forman acute angle with respect to one another in a range between and including to SVEN SALMONSON.

References Cited in the file of this patent UNITED STATES PATENTS Number Name Date 670,562 Hornbostel Mar. 26, 1901 1,450,701 Murray Apr. 3, 1923 FOREIGN PATENTS Number Country Date 428,715 Great Britain May 17, 1935 

